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The turbocharged 1.6-liter engine in the 2011 Nissan Juke is rated at 188 hp.

DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY: If ever there was an automotive equivalent of the "butterface," the 2011 Nissan Juke SV is it. This little crossover has personality, driving dynamics and a price point to make it the spiritual cousin of the vaunted Mini Cooper. But cripes, it's hard to look at.

Let's look for a moment beyond the spider-eyed front end (hard as it may be). The Juke actually looks pretty good from other angles. The taillights call to mind the Focus hatch: the stance is sporty, and the Juke manages to look both larger and smaller than expected at the same time--no easy feat.

Inside, hard plastics abound, as expected in this price class, but thanks to interesting shapes, textures and colors, the inside doesn't scream "economy car." The dark trim on the dash and doors combined with cream-colored fabrics provided a classy contrast in our test car.

It's behind the wheel, away from that ugly mug, that the Juke really shines. The turbocharged 1.6-liter engine and six-speed manual rival the best small-car powertrains in the business, though torque steer (and traction-control intervention) is always a quick stab of the right pedal away. The all-wheel-drive version would be an obvious choice except for the fact that Nissan chose to offer it only with a CVT, which is a deal breaker on most any car and especially one as fun to drive as a stick-shift Juke.

If you're in the market for a Mini, Honda Civic Si, Subaru Impreza WRX or the like, give the Juke a try. If you keep the lights off, you might just fall in love.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: Driving the Juke was one of the my biggest surprises of the year. I was surprised at how much fun the car was to drive. As far as the design, well, it got hit by the ugly stick a couple of times. I really didn't care for seeing the turn signals/headlights from the driver's seat. And the back seat is very cramped, even though the car has four doors. Likewise, the cargo space with the back seats up is quite tiny.

On wet pavement, it was easy to spin the front tires in the first two gears. The torque from the 1.6-liter four is impressive. Having a six-speed manual instead of the fun-sucking CVT would be preferred, but they need to figure out how to get AWD with the manual tranny. That would be the hot setup.

The interior is full of hard plastic, which is something we've come to expect in a $21,000 car. The seats are hard and somewhat uncomfortable, with manual adjustments that are difficult to reach once the door is closed. And I'm still amazed that companies go so far as to put a tilt steering wheel in but don't go the extra yard to allow the wheel to telescope, giving the driver an increasingly wide selection of driving positions.

I'm not sure I'd put the Juke in the same league as the Mini Cooper or Subaru Impreza WRX, or even the Honda Civic Si. It is way less refined than any of those models. The Juke does offer some fine utility, and for $21,000, one could certainly spend more cash and have considerably less fun--as long as you can stand to look at the thing.

NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE: I remember seeing the Juke on display in Geneva, and even at a glitzy auto show, it was hard to look at. So I'll be succinct: I'm not a fan of the appearance, and the interior feels cheap.

But, it drives very well, downright fun and energetic. The six-speed makes this car come alive. The steering offers nice response, and the chassis is tight. I was impressed with the dynamics of this thing, as it was fairly reasonable to hold lines and control it with a decent amount of precision.

The four-banger is a bit loud but does return decent power. I was late for a Sunday dinner, and the Juke was surprisingly adept at dashing across town.

The cabin can be loud at times, though the slightly elevated driving position is nice. It has decent fuel economy, too, though premium is recommended. It's an interesting car--not my choice, but some might like it.

SENIOR ART DIRECTOR CHERYL L. BLAHNIK: The Juke is one of those little utes that I'm drawn to for its fun and playful exterior, but I would prefer it to be more chiseled and with an aggressive face to match the carved out taillights. I also like it for its compact size, which is easy to fit into tight spots but large enough to have respectable cargo-carrying capabilities.

I'll have to echo the praise for this engine. The turbo helps make the Juke a peppy commuter, though it doesn't quite offer the go-kart fun feeling of a Mini Cooper, but it is fun nonetheless. The price also seems more than reasonable for a vehicle that offers the dual threat of being entertaining to drive and the practical dimensions to carry gear, too.

ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: I'm not so sure about this 2011 Nissan Juke SV being an alternate to a Subaru Impreza WRX or Honda Civic Si, either. However, if you say it can be a cheaper alternative to the Mini Countryman, I can totally see it. In fact, that's exactly what I was thinking all weekend as I shuttled around town in this odd-looking automotive specimen.

Another thing that got me thinking was if we were able to get this drivetrain in our long-term Nissan Cube instead of the underwhelming 1.8-liter four-cylinder with 122 hp, which then was straddled to a continuously variable transmission. We would have liked that Cube a lot more if it had this Juke's hardware.

But let's get back to my Countryman comparison. The Mini is available with a turbocharged four-cylinder, offers front- and all-wheel drive and is a hatchback. The major downer for the Juke is that it's equipped with the CVT only when you go with all-wheel drive, but you do get a multilink rear suspension instead of the torsion beam when you upgrade to the all-wheel drive model. In the Mini, you can get all-wheel-drive with the manual gearbox, which wins it big points.

However, remember I said the Nissan would be a good, cheaper alternative to the Countryman? The $22,490 as-tested price of this Juke SV model is nearly identical to the base Countryman's of $22,450 with the naturally aspirated 121-hp engine. Upgrading to the Countryman S with the turbocharged 181-hp engine bumps the base price up to $26,050, which still falls short of the Nissan's 188-hp force-induced mill. Throw a couple options in there, and the price can climb even higher real fast.

Granted, the Mini does have a slicker-shifting manual transmission and a more composed chassis overall, but you'll pay for it. I'm not saying this Nissan is bad, but it's certainly not as buttoned up. The manual gearbox's shifts are on the crunchy side, cabin noise is on the high side and the interior is, as already mentioned by many above, a "hard plastic panels all the time" environment. At least the finish on all of them looks good.

When it comes down to driving, with it set in sport mode, the Juke becomes the most engaging vehicle in the segment. Forget the Scion xB and Kia Soul. If you want something that's actually fun to drive in this class, you want a Juke with a manual. Yeah, it's difficult to look at, but a turbo and a manual transmission do a lot to make you more willing to accept some shortcomings.

Midrange power of this engine is healthy. Passing on the expressway is a cinch with just a downshift or two to put you into the meat of the powerband. Steering is lightly weighted but responsive, and the suspension keeps things reasonably planted for spirited driving. The light (by today's standards) curb weight of 2,923 pounds also helps explain the Juke's impressive reflexes. Brake performance was also strong with discs at all four corners.

I played around with the throttle mapping a bit. I tried eco for about two miles to confirm that engine power was indeed down in the name of fuel savings and sport really did liven up things with snappier throttle response and optimal power output. It was in sport for the rest of the time, with the central screen at the bottom of the center stack displaying a boost gauge. I do wish that gauge were somewhere more convenient, like say, on the main gauge cluster.

All things considered, the Juke with a manual transmission is now my favorite weirdo-looking car on the market. Now I just want a crack at the Juke-R with its 480-hp version of the twin-turbocharged V6 normally residing under the hood of the GT-R. I imagine that would be a riot and half.

Andrew Stoy
- Digital editor Andrew Stoy is an avid enthusiast of all cars who has spent the past 15 years writing about the automobile in print, online and for advertising and PR firms.
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